Robin Skone Palmer

Robin Skone Palmer

Mother’s wedding dress is not hanging in the closet tonight. It had been there side-by-side with my dad’s tuxedo for as long as I am able to remember. I’d been fretting about what to do with it. I couldn’t just toss it like any old dress. Maybe donating it to the theater department at the university? Or, hey, how about a vintage clothing store? Yes, good idea. I looked on-line and discovered The Glam Factory, downtown Las Vegas. Sounded perfect. (No website, but on Facebook.) So I packed them up — the wedding dress, the tuxedo and added a dressy dress of my own from the 70s — worn twice — that I’d always hoped I’d have the occasion (and the figure) to wear again. I located The Glam Factory on a small side-street — a small richly painted and decorated old house. How fun! Before I took everything inside, I did… Read More »

Have you ever read something in the newspaper that makes you say, “Wait — say what?” You’ve just come across something that makes no sense. Then you go back and read it again — and sometimes again and again. For instance … One day last week, my local newspaper, the Las Vegas Review Journal, had a picture with the caption: “the defendant enters the courtroom Friday before pleading guilty to murdering the victim at the Regional Justice Center” (which is the high-flautin’ name for the courthouse). Say What? He murdered her at courthouse? Wasn’t anyone around to stop him? Oh, wait on a subsequent reading I realized they meant that he pled guilty at the courthouse to the murder. Oh, okay. I wonder if anyone actually proof-reads these things. Of course, a newspaper has a quick turn-around so it’s not like a book or manuscript where someone can go through and take a lot of time… Read More »

About a year ago billboards started popping up around Las Vegas advertising the local hospitals. Each billboard has a digital display showing the current wait time. At the beginning, the times varied from 10 or 12 minutes up to 30-35 minutes. In addition to showing the (supposed) wait time in a changeable digital format, they also had pictures. One was of an older couple holding golf clubs and smiling broadly, another was a young kid on a skateboard, and another of a backyard barbecue. I’m not exactly sure of the reason for the pictures. Do you think it was something stealthy like, “Yeah, you’re having a good time now, but you’re going to need us before very long!” or subliminal like “Hospitals are just part of every-day life, get used to it”? Whatever the reason, it seemed disingenuous. Maybe it was meant to be reassuring, like, “see, people just like you… Read More »

Saturday evening I was sitting at my computer when I hear the most terrifying shriek! it brought me right out of my chair. It was followed almost immediately by a second, louder shriek. The hair on my arms stood up — a child was obviously in distress. I raced out the front door and had a quick look up and down the street and there — across the street and up a couple of houses — was a jump house that had suddenly materialized. Jump house — you know — the large inflatable thing that looks like a castle. Kids go inside and jump up and down and bounce all around like on a trampoline, and apparently shriek while they do it. At least this one had a shrieking child inside. I watched for a couple of minutes to make sure that was really what was happening until a little girl,… Read More »

My friend, Shawn, having helped me set up a facebook account said, “Have you seen the clip of Phyllis playing the piano with Liberace?” I am a technology dweeb and was fascinated when he zipped through You Tube and clicked on a video. We watched it and were both laughing. http://youtube/3mRK5A45Qrc (I’m still a dweeb because I still can’t make this a link, but you can copy it into your browser. It’s about a 3 minute clip.) When I saw this, I was startled at the shortness of her dress. I came to work for her less than two years later and by then she had changed that look to mid-knee length, partly to make her look awkward. That and the ankle-high boots gave a choppy appearance that worked well with her short, choppy joke delivery. But I digress … Many people don’t know that Phyllis Diller studied piano and even composed several… Read More »